Managing iOS devices with MDM

I gave a talk on building a Mobile Device Management server for over-the-air enrollment.

Video

Outline

Slide show

The deployment, enrollment and management features are really based on your budget. If you only have $100 budget and a 10.7 Mac, Lion Server with Profile Manager is a fine choice, it bring the management in house which I always enjoy.  It gives you

1. Clear Passcode, 
2. Unlock
3. Wipe

It does not give full disk encryption, app delivery, or remote desktop. 

I think the best solution, although I have not tested it, is to use SCCM 2012 as it is cross platform, easily virtualized and can used Active Directory natively.  

I think the real challenge that can be easily overlooked is why to use the device at all.  Mobile phones, fine, you have data that should not be exposed.   Tablets in Higher Ed?  The challenge is how to integrate them into the classroom, how to make them useful tools. That's where the money and energy need to spent, researching the purpose. Managing the devices is the easy part.

Potato Soup

I starting using my crock pot more in recent weeks.  I now make potato soup.

• chop 3 or 4 potatoes, enough to fill to 2" below top of crock pot
• add 1 quart of broth 
• slow cook on low for no less than 6 hours, aim for 8
• 2 hours before you want to eat, add one chopped onion
• 2 hours before you want to eat, add 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 hour before you want to eat, add .5 lb cream cheese
• 30 minutes before you want to eat, add chopped broccoli
• 15 minutes before you want to eat, add .125 lbs of cheese
• serve with chives 
• serve with additional cheese.

Hierarchy of jokes

1. Make a joke about the person you're talking to, they laugh and don't realize it's at their expense
2. Make a joke and no one laughs. You only amused yourself.
3. Make a joke and everyone laughs.
4. Do not make a jokes, and everyone laughs.

It is a privilege to fight

Blood alone moves the wheels of history

About 4 months ago I mentioned I built an iPad management server and would be presenting at NERCOMP.

Well, I did it.

And it turns out that I'm not a very good public speaker, but I have a few items on my side:

1. Technical difficulties immediately prior and we presented on a shifty laptop that seemed to forward through the slides of its own accord
2. The venue was the ball room and most of the crowd sat in the back which made it difficult to tell who I was talking to and how many people were present
3. I never practiced my presentation mic'd. When I heard my voice on the microphone I was intimidated and I spoke quietly and it was amplified more to compensate. 

I remember standing up, beginning my presentation, a buzzing in my ears, and then sitting back down when it was over. Oh boy. What a mess! But I did it. I didn't back down, I didn't say fuck and I didn't throw up. 

The most embarrassing aspect was that my entire presentation, the process for building the server, was a line item for our co presenters. They took an entirely different approach about integrating iPads into the curriculum, encouraging them to be used and giving out iTunes gift cards to their Faculty to explore and experiment.

I'll talk about the technical aspects of my topic in another post.

MW&MSI

MSI and Morningwood are on tour together! We went to see them on Sunday in Hartford. It's a good thing too, because this is Morningwood's last tour ever.

I was going to just buy a patch for $5, but I realized this CD might have a few tracks that I hadn't heard before so I ponied up another $5 spot for it. I gave her the $30 I had and

I said "Please keep the rest because I downloaded your music from the Internet"

She was really sweet and tried to give me extra stuff.  We compromised with an autograph of this sampler.

"You already did the work, I'm just paying you for it."

As soon as I can figure out how to rip to .flac and you ask for an ftp account I'll let you have it.


MSI was what you'd expect.